Taiwanese comics win recognition at international festival
|
Central News Agency
Chambery, France, Oct. 17 (CNA) Taiwanese comic artists deserve more recognition and attention from French readers, the chairman of the Chambery Comics Festival said Sunday. Describing Taiwanese comics as dense with Japanese influences, Serge Ripoll told CNA at the three-day event that ended that day that Taiwanese comics' own distinctive characteristics nevertheless shine through. Held in the French city of Chambery, the festival, the 35th of its kind, was the first European event devoted to Taiwanese comics and marked the first time Taiwan had been chosen as the theme country in France's second-largest comic convention. French readers hold Taiwanese works in high esteem for their diversity of content and richness of color, and the festival has decided to seek Taiwanese participation on a long-term basis, said Ripoll at the event that featured 11 Taiwanese graphic artists and one dough figurine artist. "Wings of Kopule" by AKRU, a Taiwan comic artist who is well-received at home and in Hong Kong and Germany, drew a horde of French fans who lined up at the venue to get autographs, according to press reports. The story, which portrays an English botanist who ventures into the mountainous central Taiwan to investigate a legend about immortality, is a tale of Taiwan's history, according to AKRU, an anthropology major. Drawn with delicate and clean strokes, the fantasy intertwines the lives of the Han Chinese and Taiwanese Aborigines living in central Taiwan and details the customs and lifestyles of the late 19th century. Another artist, Juan Kuang-ming, exhibited the latest work on a mom-and-pop store in Taiwan facing threat from the construction of a modern mall, according to press reports. Another work that won high acclaim is a series by Taiwanese artist Liu Kung-lin. In the story, a security guard at Taiwan's National Palace Museum travels through time out of his passion for antiques and old objects. In addition to the honor of being the theme country, this year's festival saw an increase in the number of Taiwanese artists who took part in the event, from two last year to 11. According to Ripoll, the festival will set up an award specifically for Taiwanese comics next year, enabling local artists to show their works on a regular basis. The Chambery comics festival, which brought together 70 comic book illustrators from about 20 countries, showcased a total of 124 Taiwanese comic books and 110 memorabilia items. The festival will be followed by the Angouleme International Comics Festival next year, Europe's biggest comics convention, with 300,000 visitors each year. It too will feature Taiwan as the theme country.
|
|
全站熱搜
留言列表
